Teacher Salary Schedules

1. Teacher Salary Schedules February 10, 2012

2. Teacher Salary Schedules By: Robert Butler WASB Staff Counsel Co-Director of Legal Services bbutler@wasb.org 1-877-705-4422 (phone) 1-608-512-1703 (direct phone) 1-608-257-8386 (fax) By: Barry Forbes WASB Staff Counsel Co-Director of Legal Services bforbes@wasb.org 1-877-705-4422 (phone) 1-608-512-1707 (direct phone) 1-608-257-8386 (fax)

3. Learning Objectives • Wisconsin Act 10 and its Impact on Compensation Systems • Discussion of Total Base Wage Calculation • Compensation Systems • Traditional Salary Schedule • Alternative Compensation Systems • Considerations Prior to Adoption • Representative Systems • Characteristics and Themes • Options to Consider

4. Past Collective Bargaining

5. The Transition

6. The Problem

7. Making it all Fit

8. 2011 Wisconsin Act 10 • Collective Bargaining Changes (effective June 29, 2011) • Prohibits bargaining collectively with respect to any condition of employment except wages, which includes only total base wages and excludes any other compensation, such as overtime, premium pay, merit pay, performance pay, supplemental compensation, pay schedules, and automatic pay progressions. • Limited to bargaining over a percentage of a total base wage increase no greater than the percentage change in the consumer price index.

9. 2011 Wisconsin Act 10 • Collective Bargaining Changes • Unless approved by referendum, the law prohibits any increase in base wages that exceeds the total base wages for authorized positions 180 days before the expiration of the previous collective bargaining agreement by a greater percentage than the increase in the consumer price index (CPI). If a local governmental unit (including a school district) wishes to increase the total base wages of its general municipal employees in an amount that exceeds these CPI limits, it must adopt a resolution to that effect. • The resolution must specify the amount by which the proposed total base wages increase will exceed the CPI limit, and may not take effect unless approved in a referendum. • For school districts, the referendum would occur in April for collective bargaining agreements that begin in July of that year.

10. 2011 Wisconsin Act 32 • Bargaining Prohibited If Decrease or No Change in CPI [111.70(4)(mb)]. If there is a decrease or no change in the CPI, a municipal employer is prohibited from bargaining for any change in total base wages for authorized positions in the proposed bargaining agreement from the total base wages180 days before the expiration of the previous bargaining agreement. (This provision repeals and recreates a provision in 2011 Wisconsin Act 10.) [Also see Section 9132(1d), below.] • CPI Change Information from WERC and DOR [111.70(4)(mbb)]: For purposes of complying with prohibited subjects of bargaining provisions, the WERC shall provide, upon request, to a municipal employer or to any representative of a collective bargaining unit containing a general municipal employee, the CPI change (obtained from the department of revenue (DOR)) during any 12-month period.

11. Act 10 - HistoryDefinition of Base Wage Increase • As of February 10, 2012 WERC has not issued Rules for Defining Total Base Wages. http://werc.wi.gov/selected_press_releases_and_werc_world_articles.htm#cpi_calculation_rules_developments • “On August 31, 2011, Governor Walker approved the request of the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission to develop administrative rules as to: • (1) the method for providing the relevant changes in the CPI-U index to the State, municipal employers, and the unions representing state and municipal employees as well as (2) the calculation that will establish the maximum collectively bargained change in total base wages allowed under 2011 Wisconsin Acts 10 and 32.”

12. Act 10 - HistoryDefinition of Base Wage Increase • As of November 28, 2011 WERC has not issued Rules for Defining Total Base Wages. • “Pursuant to 2011 Wisconsin Act 21, the Governor’s approval needs to be published in Legislative Reference Bureau’s Register before work on the proposed rules can begin. Given the timing of publication, it is anticipated that work will not be able to begin until late September.”

13. Act 10 - HistoryDefinition of Base Wage Increase • As of November 28, 2011 WERC has not issued Rules for Defining Total Base Wages. • “While it awaits the ability to begin work on the administrative rules, pursuant to the request of affected parties, the Commission has requested that the Wisconsin Department of Revenue provide the average annual change in the CPI-U index for collective bargaining agreements with terms beginning July 1, 2011 and January 1, 2012. Once that information is received, it will be posted on the website.”

14. Act 10 - HistoryDefinition of Base Wage Increase • As of November 28, 2011 WERC has not issued Rules for Defining Total Base Wages. • “The Commission anticipates that the CPI-U increase provided by Revenue for July 1, 2011 agreements will be 1.64% and for January 1, 2012 agreements will be 2.0%.” • “By letter dated September 28, 2011, Secretary of Revenue Richard G. Chandler advised the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission that the CPI-U increase applicable to one year collective bargaining agreements with a term beginning January 1, 2012 is 2.01%.” • “Commission requests for the CPI-U change for contracts with a term beginning January 1, 2011 and July 1, 2011 remain pending with the Department of Revenue.” • The CPI-U increase for July 1, 2012 is presently running at 3.15%. Final rate will not be solidified until on or after January 15, 2012.

15. Act 10 - HistoryDefinition of Base Wage Increase • As of November 28, 2011 WERC has not issued Rules for Defining Total Base Wages. • What does Total Base Wages Mean? • Contemporaneous Definition of Total Base Wage: • Base Wage Example from the Wisconsin Department of Administration – from Brian Hayes, State Budget Director to Mike Huebsch, Secretary of Administration, February 15, 2011.

16. Act 10 - History Definition of Base Wage Increase

17. Act 10 - History Definition of Base Wage Increase

18. Act 10 - History Definition of Base Wage Increase

19. Act 10 - History Definition of Base Wage Increase

20. Act 10 – HistoryDefinition of Base Wage Increase

21. Act 10 - History Definition of Base Wage Increase

22. Act 10 - History Definition of Base Wage Increase

23. Act 10 Implications on Funds Available for Board Directed Compensation • If Base Wages is Calculated off of the starting salary established 180 days prior: • More funds may be available for distribution toward items controlled by the Board, e.g. payments for additional service, performance, etc. • If Base Wages is Calculated off of the employee’s salary established 180 days prior: • Less funds may be available for distribution toward items controlled by the Board, e.g. payments for additional service, performance, etc.

24. Act 10 Implications on Funds Available for Board Directed Compensation

25. Act 10 Implications on Funds Available for Board Directed Compensation • The District is not required to provide a total base wage adjustment equal to the CPI-U. • Failure to reach an agreement on total base wages may result in the employer implementing its last offer on total base wages.

26. Teacher Compensation Systems in Wisconsin in 2011-12 and Beyond • Teacher compensation will be a combination of: • Base wages bargained with teacher unions. • Other compensation unilaterally determined by school boards.

27. Teacher Compensation Systems in Wisconsin in 2011-12 and Beyond • Goals to pursue in setting up compensation system: • Attract/retain competent staff. • Create incentives for professional development valued by board/parents/community. • Increase student achievement. • Increase public confidence in and support of education.

28. Teacher Compensation Systems in Wisconsin in 2011-12 and Beyond • Problems to avoid in setting up compensation system: • Poorly designed compensation system can work against achievement of goals. • Unfair system will cause loss of competent staff and potential for litigation. • Perverse or unexpected outcomes are possible. • Cheating. • Parents want only the best teachers.

29. Teacher Compensation Systems - Phases • The Consortium for Policy Research in Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has posited that there have been three major phases of compensation systems for teachers: • Phase I: Boarding Round • Phase II: Position-based salary schedule • Phase III: Single salary schedule http://cpre.wceruw.org/tcomp/general/teacherpay.php

30. Compensation Systems - Phases • Phase I: Boarding Round: • “Teacher compensation consisted primarily of room and board provided by the local community. • The "Boarding Round" pay system was a strong incentive for teachers to maintain positive relations with community members and to maintain a high moral character. It also reflected the barter economy of the time.” Existed up until 1900.http://cpre.wceruw.org/tcomp/general/teacherpay.php

31. Compensation Systems - Phases • Phase II: Position-based Salary Schedule • “In the early 1900s, teacher preparation became more uniform; requiring higher levels of education, and schools began to reflect the bureaucratic organizational structures of the developing industrial cash economy. “ • “A position-based salary system was created that reflected a new form of teacher work, … and increased preservice education requirements.” • http://cpre.wceruw.org/tcomp/general/teacherpay.php

32. Compensation Systems - Phases • Phase II: Position-based Salary Schedule • “ This system paid elementary teachers less than secondary teachers, in part due to the differences in education required for these positions, yet also paid women and minority teachers less than non-minority males, reflecting societal biases of the time.” http://cpre.wceruw.org/tcomp/general/teacherpay.php

33. Compensation Systems - Phases • Phase III: Single-Salary Schedule • “The single-salary schedule emerged early in the 20th century in response to further changes in the social and educational context. • Opposition to overt discrimination and demand for greater teacher skills led to the system which paid the same salary to teachers with the same qualifications regardless of grade level taught, gender or race. • The single-salary schedule did not, however, pay every teacher the same amount. ” http://cpre.wceruw.org/tcomp/general/teacherpay.php

34. Compensation Systems - Phases • Phase III: Single-Salary Schedule • “The single-salary schedule emerged early in the 20th century in response to further changes in the social and educational context.” http://cpre.wceruw.org/tcomp/general/teacherpay.php

35. Compensation Systems - Phases • Phase IV and beyond? • Student Achievement • Teacher Attributes • Skill based salary schedules • Principals’ Ratings of their Staffs • Merit/performance based salary schedules

36. Single Salary Schedule • Generally differentiation solely based upon: • years of service and • academic attainment. • Product of unionization and attempts to mitigate real and perceived discrimination issues in pay systems.

37. Single Salary Schedule • “Steps” represent years of service (up to, e.g., 15 years) and/or teaching experience. • “Lanes” represent educational achievement and advanced degrees (up to, e.g., 10 lanes, with MA-30 being highest lane).

38. Single Salary Schedule The traditional single salary schedule structure dictates the distribution of available money among those teachers who are moving through the schedule and those who are at the highest-paying step.

39. Single Salary Schedule Abbreviated Schedule

40. Single Salary Schedule • Loosely based on license renewal (6 credits every 5 years) • Additional pay for years of service • Incentives for educational advancement • Level of District ability to establish and approve incentives varies widely.

41. Single Salary Schedule • Too much structured step movement tends to cause dissatisfaction among teachers and competitive problems for the district when it comes to the attraction and retention of staff. • Teachers perceive that a schedule with too many steps will require too many years of service to get to the top. • Too much structured step movement leaves little money to increase the base and pay for senior teachers. • Most of the money available for pay increases is used up in step movement when schedules have too many steps.

42. Single Salary Schedule • If there are fewer steps, staff reaches maximum salary quickly. • Historically, one of WEAC’s bargaining goals was to achieve salary schedules of ten or fewer steps. • Bargaining over salary schedule structure is now prohibited.

43. Single Salary Schedule • “Percent-per-cell” increases • Focuses more money on the higher paying steps and lanes • Widens the dollar gap between the “BA Base” and the “Schedule Maximum.”

44. Single Salary Schedule • “Dollar-per-cell” increases focuses: • A greater percentage of available money on the entry-level steps/lanes • Decreases the percentage gap between the “BA Base” and the “Schedule Maximum.”

45. Single Schedule (Modified) • Some districts agreed to incorporate aspects of PI-34 into the traditional salary schedule. • PI-34 is the Wisconsin teacher licensing system that went into effect in 2004.

46. Single Schedule (Modified) • PI-34 requires teachers to complete a “professional development plan” in order to renew their license. • Some districts permitted teachers to move one lane on the salary schedule for each PDP they complete.

47. Alternative Compensation Systems – Denver ProComp • ProComp, first piloted in 1999, is one of the oldest alternative compensation systems still in use. • The ProComp system is a results-based pay program that uses multiple criteria to assess teachers’ performance. • ProComp contains nine different avenues for increasing pay - most of which are based on objective criteria. • Participation in ProComp is voluntary. Over 80% of Denver Public School teachers participate.

48. Alternative Compensation Systems – Denver ProComp - Criteria • Market incentive component: • Hard to Staff Schools: Teachers/specialists who work in positions that are considered difficult to fill will receive a 3% Index Bonus (Index = $37,551 in 2011-12). Hard to Staff assignments are classified as those where the supply of licensed professionals is low and the rate of turnover is high. • Hard to Serve Schools: Teachers/specialists at schools considered hard to serve will receive a 3% Index Bonus every year the school is eligible. Hard to serve schools are those with a high percentage of students on free and reduced lunch.

49. Alternative Compensation Systems – Denver ProComp - Criteria • Knowledge and skills component: • Teachers who complete one Professional Development Unit in their current or proposed area of assignment will receive a salary increase of 2% of the index after: • Completing approved courses, • Demonstrating their skills, and • Reflecting on the values of the knowledge for use with their students. • Graduate Degrees relevant to current or proposed assignment or National Board Certificates receive salary increase equal to 9% of the index for life of degree or certificate. • Tuition reimbursement of up to $1000 for courses in current or proposed area of assignment.

50. Alternative Compensation Systems – Denver ProComp - Criteria • Professional evaluation component: • Salary increase of 3% of index for teachers who receive satisfactory evaluation. Teachers evaluated once every 3 years. • Unsatisfactory evaluation delays salary increase until teacher receives satisfactory or better rating.